(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Tuesday’s analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) A media giant and a sports betting company were among the stocks being talked about by analysts on Tuesday. Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of Disney with a buy rating and a price target that implies more than 20% upside. Meanwhile, Raymond James downgraded Penn Entertainment to market perform from outperform. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 5:50 a.m.: Piper Sandler calls Uber a ‘sleeping giant,’ sees 25% upside ahead Advertising opportunities in the gig economy make Uber a “sleeping giant,” according to Piper Sandler. The firm reiterated its overweight rating on Uber and raised its price target to $88 from $86. Analyst Thomas Champion’s updated price forecast corresponds to a roughly 25% upside for the ride-hailing stock. “Like all two-sided marketplaces, Gig Economy names have a high-margin Advertising opportunity that AMZN has proven out,” Champion wrote. “But, UBER’s scale makes it a sleeping giant.” The analyst pointed out that Uber has beaten expectations for its EBITDA metrics over the last 10 quarter by 15% on average. Therefore, Champion believes that the company’s margin opportunity may still be underappreciated. He added that Uber shows the most promise when it comes to long-term advertisement opportunities. “Thinking through potential LT ad attach rates at $ scale combined, UBER appears to have the most upside potential through ’27 at an incremental $4.3BN we estimate,” Champion said. Another upcoming catalyst for the stock could be that Uber recently opened its ride ads to programmatic buying at Google Display & Video 360, Trade Desk and Yahoo DSP. This could translate to access to around $46 billion in annual ad spend, Champion noted. Shares of Uber are up nearly 15% on the year. — Lisa Kailai Han 5:41 a.m.: Goldman Sachs initiates Disney with a buy rating Disney has room for upside growth ahead, according to Goldman Sachs. The bank initiated coverage of the entertainment giant at a buy rating, setting a 12-month target price of $125. This implies that shares of Disney could rally 23% from Monday’s close. Disney has added 13% this year. “Disney is a high quality EPS compounder, which should deliver a 14% EPS CAGR (F2024E-2030E) driven by 6% revenue growth, 9% EBIT growth, and contributions from share buybacks & other income,” wrote analyst Michael Ng. “This mid-term growth is supported by its content, which is underpinned by world-class storytelling and a portfolio of long-term marquee sports rights at ESPN.” As a catalyst, the analyst referenced Disney’s direct-to-consumer platform, which he said was among the few streaming services strong enough to compete against Netflix. Content sales and licensing also hit a cyclical bottom in 2023, but profitability should return in the segment this year. Ng also cited ESPN’s direct-to-consumer initiatives and strong industry fundamentals within the cruises and theme parks verticals as additional strengths for the company. These investments — which include the launch of three new cruise ships and the Disneyland Forward expansion — could contribute around $10 billion in annual profits after completion, he added. — Lisa Kailai Han 5:41 a.m.: Raymond James downgrades Penn Entertainment It’s time to cash in on Penn Entertainment shares, according to Raymond James. Analyst RJ Milligan downgraded the casino and sports betting company to market perform from outperform. He also removed his $20 price target, which implied just 3% upside from Monday’s close. Milligan noted that recent activist pressure and M & A rumors have recently pushed shares higher, limiting further upside ahead. Indeed, the stock is up nearly 21% over the past month. “Given the path to profitability in digital still remains uncertain, and we don’t expect any dramatic shift in strategy (e.g., an outright sale of the company) in the near-term, we are recommending investors take profits and look for better risk-adjusted opportunities in the sector,” the analyst added. “We also question whether PENN would even be a willing seller in the near-term — the company has made a massive bet on its partnership with ESPN and would likely want to see how successful (or unsuccessful) they will be through the NFL season,” he said. Despite the recent gains, Penn shares are down more than 25% year to date. NVDA YTD mountain NVDA year to date — Fred Imbert
